Princess Lily
by Ellethwen Celtica
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Snape plays a game with the neighborhood kids, and ends up running into a rather unforgiving queen.


**Short little fic for you. Sixteen-year-old Snape plays a game with some of the neighborhood kids.**

He was too old to play this game. Too old to pretend to be the knight in shining armor. Too old to host grand battles in the neighborhood that had too many battles of its own.

"Please Severus?" The children wanted him to play still. They were still young themselves, ranging from five to thirteen. And yet none of them had quite the imagination that Severus did. "Please please please please please please please?"

It would disappoint them if he did not play. It would be safer if he did not play. There would be no chance of The Morons breaking his nose if he was caught playing like a little kid. There was no chance of ending up on the Evans' street.

But on the other hand, he should stop moping. Lily was not coming back to him. He had no real reason to keep returning to the old playground. And his mother was threatening to use a permanent Cheering Charm on him if he didn't stop scowling about.

"You really want me to play?" Severus asked.

"Yes yes yes!" they all said.

"All right then…I am Grindelwald, the evil wizard!" Several of the kids yelped in pretend terror and everyone ran from him.

"I will come and find you! I shall turn you all into toads!" There was silence; all the children had hidden.

"Hiding is useless, it will be no help-YARG!" He jumped in front of a crevice between a wall and some old crates and the seven-year-old boy hiding there screamed. "Froggus becomis!" Severus said, pointing his finger at the boy.

"Ah! I dodge your curse and attack you with my sword!" the boy said.

"Oh, but weapons are useless against me! The only thing that can destroy me is a Lily flower!"

"I run away to help the others! You were distracted by a bird!" the kid crawled between his legs and ran away.

"It does not matter, I will find you again!" Severus counted to five before continuing on, to give the boy a head start. He walked on but was stopped by a little girl, who could be no more than five years old.

"I am Princess Lily," she said with all the grace of a real princess, despite the fact that she was covered head to toe in dirt. "I will destroy you!"

"Alas!" Severus said, putting his arm up in distress. "My arch nemesis!" From behind her came four twelve-year-old boys, each carrying a lily they'd stolen from someone's garden.

"Charge!" Princess Lily yelled, leading the boys in their pursuit of Severus. He cackled as he ran, occasionally yelling out made up spells and what they did.

More "villagers" with lilies came and went along the way, and most of them he "turned into toads." Soon he was weaving between buildings and darting across streets, unaware of where he was going, just slightly attempting to lose his attackers.

He looked back to see that the three twelve-year-olds still on his tail were now very close to him, and that was when he ran into someone. He fell backward and looked up into the livid face of Lily Evans. "Alas!" he said as the other kids caught up. "I have been defeated at the hands of a Lily! 'Tis the Queen of Lilies, and she has destroyed me!"

"You brought your destruction upon yourself, King of Snakes, and it is your own fault," Lily said. While the smaller kids might have thought that Lily was just playing along, the two sixteen-year-olds were no longer referring to the game.

"Indeed, the noble young spirit was easily turned, and cast about a whirlpool in his wake, causing the destruction of many a bridge," Severus said easily. "Alas! Death leads me away!" He dropped back onto the ground, eyes closed and tongue out.

The younger children giggled, and little Princess Lily stepped up to him. "With my magic lily, I bring you back to life! You are now good, and will always protect your Princess Lily!"

Severus groaned and got up. "Is that so?" he said. "Very well then, we are off to fight giant snakes! I shall always be of service to my Princess Lily! None shall deny it!" and he ran off, leading a trail of kids, and forcing himself not to look back. Not to look at his Princess.

**This seemed longer when I wrote it. Like it? Hate it? Review, please?**


End file.
